#Workers of the world unite plus#

It provides an invaluable behind-the-scenes account of how domestic workers successfully lobbied governments and employers to do what seemed to be an insurmountable task, that is, the formal recognition of domestic work as labor and the implementation of global employment standards. 'Domestic Workers of the World Unite!documents a significant moment in labor history. For anyone with a stake in international human and workers’ rights, this is a critical and inspiring model of civil society organizing. This landmark victory not only legitimizes the importance of these household laborers’ demands for respect and recognition, but also signals the need to consider human rights as a central component of workers’ rights.ĭomestic Workers of the World Unite! chronicles how a group with so few resources could organize and act within the world’s most powerful international structures and give voice to the wider global plight of migrants, women, and informal workers. The book takes us to Geneva, where domestic workers organized, negotiated, and successfully received the first-ever granting of international standards for care work protections by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization. Fish presents the compelling stories of the pioneering women who, while struggling to fight for rights in their own countries, mobilized transnationally to enact change.

#Workers of the world unite plus#

Many women who perform these jobs are migrants, and are oftentimes dependent upon their employers for room and board as well as their immigration status, creating an extremely vulnerable category of workers in the growing informal global economy.ĭrawing on over a decade’s worth of research, plus interviews with a number of key movement leaders and domestic workers, Jennifer N. They are not afforded legal protections or benefits such as union membership, health care, vacation days, and retirement plans. Maids, nannies, housekeepers, au pairs, and other care workers are most often ‘off the books,’ working for long hours and low pay. From grassroots to global activism, the untold story of the world's first domestic workers' movement.ĭomestic workers exist on the margins of the world labor market.